School counselors and community and family engagement

Emily Sallee, Mary Amanda Graham

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the role of professional school counselors as related to the importance of collaborating with the school and local community to promote family engagement. Systems theory is applied, and research addressing the positive academic implications related to family engagement is presented. Specific strategies and useful tips are discussed. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model carefully outlines the role of school counselors in consultation and collaboration engagement with families and community stakeholders. Additionally, ASCA tasks school counselors with addressing barriers to these partnerships, such as communication and access (2016). Ideally, school counselors in training gain knowledge and skills in this area during their graduate training programs, but many gain most of their preservice experience in this area during their field experiences (i.e., practicum and internship). This is because, in large part, CACREP standards do not currently require a graduate-level course in family-school collaboration, although some programs instill this content into other courses. As PK-12 student needs increase and school counselors must partner with families and communities more than ever, it is advantageous for counselor educators to add specific family-community-school coursework into graduate training programs. The authors of this chapter will use the terms parent, family, and caregiver to describe a variety of constellations that include caregivers, guardians, home environments, and other words used in related research and broader conversations as it relates to systems in which our students live.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationFoundations of School Counseling
Subtitle of host publicationInnovation in Professional Practice
PublisherSpringer Publishing Company
Pages249-264
Number of pages16
ISBN (Electronic)9780826187536
ISBN (Print)9780826187529
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 15 2022

Keywords

  • Community stakeholder
  • Family engagement
  • Family-school collaboration
  • Parent consultation
  • School counselors

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